Jude the Apostle

Saint Jude, known as Jude Thaddaeus or Jude Labbeus,the patron saint of lost causes, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Jesus Christ.He was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.He should not be confused with Judas Iscariot,yet another apostle,who betrayed Jesus and later committed suicide.Jude Thaddaeus is often called the "Forgotten Saint" since many people reckoned him as Judas Iscariot and avoided prayers on behalf of him.

Legend has it that Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in the Galilee portion of ancient Palestine, the same region that Jesus grew up in. He probably spoke Greek and Aramaic, like many of his contemporaries in that area, and he was a farmer (as many of his family were) by trade.

He was son of Cleophas and Mary Cleophas, a cousin of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Cleophas, was murdered because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ. After Mary Cleophas's death, miracles were attributed to her intercession. Jude had several brothers, including James, one of the original Apostles. His own first name, Jude, means giver of joy, while Thaddeus, another name he was called, means generous and kind. He was later married, had at least one child, and there are references to his grandchildren living as late as 95 A.D.

Jude is traditionally depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand or close to his chest. This idea comes from a Biblical story in which King Abgar of Edessa (a city located in what is now southeast Turkey) asked Jesus to cure him of leprosy and sent an artist to bring him a drawing of Jesus. Impressed with Abgar's great faith, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Jude to take to Abgar. Upon seeing Jesus' image, the King was cured and he converted to Christianity along with most of the people under his rule. This cloth is called the "Image of Edessa".

Jude is also often shown in paintings with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles.

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.

He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia around 65 AD. The final conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the 3rd century of our era.

Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why he would not manifest himself to the whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with Saint Simon in Persia. Sometime after his death, Saint Jude's body was brought to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees.

Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28(Roman Church) and June 19(Eastern Church).

Devotion to Saint Jude began again in earnest in the 1800s, starting in Italy and Spain, spreading to South America, and finally to the U.S. (originally in the Chicago area) in the 1920s. Saint Jude is patron saint of Chicago Police Force.Novena prayers to Jude helped people, especially newly-arrived immigrants from Europe, deal with the pressures caused by the Great Depression, World War II, and the changing workplace and family life.

World's tallest bronze oil lamp with 1001 oil wick lights, has been erected in the St.Jude's church in Koothattukulam,Kerala,India.

See also: Jude, Jude Thomas